Episodes

  • Ann Patchett Revisits Bel Canto

    Ann Patchett Revisits Bel Canto
    Nov 7 2024
    Ann Patchett burst on the scene with Bel Canto twenty three years ago. Bel Canto was not her first novel, but many still consider it to be her best (although she disagrees). This week she releases an Annotated Edition of Bel Canto and in it she rereads and notes her triumphs and mistakes on every page. Seriously. A great novel, a great writer making insightful comments on her own writing (in her own handwriting)…if you love reading, writing or Ann Patchett, this is a HUGE treat. In this episode, the first installment of our conversation with Ann, we talk to her about the inspirations behind Bel Canto, and so much of what she thinks she could do better if she wrote it today. Listen and nerd out with us on the writing experience. Books mentioned in this week’s podcast: Bel Canto: The Annotated Edition by Ann Patchett The Dutch House by Ann Patchett These Precious Days by Ann Patchett The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett State of Wonder by Ann Patchett Commonwealth by Ann Patchett Run by Ann Patchett This is the Story of a Marriage by Ann Patchett Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett Tom Lake by Ann Patchett Taft by Ann Patchett Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    43 mins
  • Danzy Senna Creates Worlds She Wants to See

    Danzy Senna Creates Worlds She Wants to See
    Oct 31 2024
    Danzy Senna has written a seriously funny and thought provoking book in Colored Television. It will make you laugh, but also make space for anger, pain and frustration as she skewers race, Hollywood, authentic voice, the publishing industry, the Kardashians, navel gazing, philosophy….you name it, there is satire in this book for everyone. Great writing and a great conversation with the author. We are also joined for our fourth writer in residence conversation with J. Ryan Stradal. He tells us why he is working so hard on the first draft of his new novel. Join us. Books mentioned in this week’s podcast: Colored Television by Danzy Senna Caucasia by Danzy Senna New People by Danzy Senna You are Free: Stories by Danzy Senna Where did you Sleep Last Night by Danzy Senna David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee Colours of the Mountain by Da Chen The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Beloved by Tony Morrison The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • Dwayne Betts Is Proof That A Book Can Change Your Life

    Dwayne Betts Is Proof That A Book Can Change Your Life
    Oct 24 2024
    Reginald Dwayne Betts is on a mission is to put a curated library in the cell block of every prison in America. A survivor of the system himself, he has obtained a college degree, a law degree from Yale, and a MacArthur Genius grant. Looking to bring hope to America’s most hopeless places, Bates has founded Freedom Reads, an organization that brings free curated library collections to every prison system that agrees to it. His partner in the endeavor, Debbie Leff, also talks to us about what inspired her about this tremendous organization. No one better personifies the power of reading to change a life, so join us for what we believe is an important discussion about the vitality of libraries and the power of books to heal. Books mentioned in this week’s podcast: The Circumference of a Prison by Reginald Dwayne Betts Doggerel by Reginald Dwayne Betts Felon: Poems by Reginald Dwayne Betts Redaction by Reginald Dwayne Betts Bastards of the Reagan Era by Reginald Dwayne Betts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • Paula Hawkins is a Mystery Master

    Paula Hawkins is a Mystery Master
    Oct 17 2024
    Paula Hawkins is a master of the mystery, and her new one, The Blue Hour, has one of the best opens and closes to a mystery we have ever read. An author who knows mood and atmosphere, this book will keep you turning the pages long after you told yourself to go to bed. Our bookstore this week is a revisit with one of our favorites, Beacon Hill Books. Join us! Books mentioned in this week’s podcast: The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Into the Water by Paula Hawkins Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Life After Life by Kate Atkinson The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • Richard Osman Begins a New Series

    Richard Osman Begins a New Series
    Oct 10 2024
    Richard Osman has one of the most successful literary mystery series of all time: The Thursday Murder Club (just finished filming as a major motion picture too). So why start a new series and why do we love it so much? First, we will read anything this man writes, including his address book, but second, because it’s good, AND funny. We ask Richard what inspired him, why he was crazy enough to start a new series and how. Our bookstore this week is Collected Works in Santa Fe. Join us! Books mentioned in this week's episode: We Solve Murders by Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman The Bullet that Missed by Richard Osman The Man who Died Twice by Richard Osman The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman Fade Away by Harlan Coben And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • Wright Thompson Investigates His Home State

    Wright Thompson Investigates His Home State
    Oct 3 2024
    This week's book case: Emmitt Till’s murder has been a seminal moment in American history ever since it occurred in 1955. Wright Thompson’s new book “The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi” looks at the horror through a whole new prism. Thompson loves his native land of Mississippi but is haunted by the barn where Emmitt Till was murdered. Why is it that we still know so little about one of the ugliest chapters in the history of American race relations? Tune in and find out. Books mentioned in this week’s podcast: The Barn: The Secret History of A Murder in Mississippi by Wright Thompson Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon and the Things that Last by Wright Thompson The Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business by Wright Thompson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    37 mins
  • Katherine Rundell Believes in Children’s Lit

    Katherine Rundell Believes in Children’s Lit
    Sep 19 2024
    The United Kingdom has given us some amazing children’s authors: C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, Beatrix Potter...and may we add Katherine Rundell. Her newest, Impossible Creatures, is a sensation in Britain, and was declared an instant classic even before its U.S. release. It delivers all the magic promised in the fantastical title. Tune in to our conversation with this fascinating Renaissance literature and Dunne scholar as we talk to her about what’s so addicting about writing for middle schoolers, and where we can find the magical lands she creates. Books mentioned in this week’s episode: Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell The Explorer by Katherine Rundell The Girl Savage by Katherine Rundell The Zebra’s Great Escape by Katherine Rundell Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Dunne by Katherine Rundell The Golden Mole: And Other Living Treasure by Katherine Rundell Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • Elizabeth Strout Unites Beloved Characters

    Elizabeth Strout Unites Beloved Characters
    Sep 12 2024
    If you aren’t an Elizabeth Strout fan yet, Tell me Everything, her newest novel, is going to wow you. If you are already devoted fans, like we are, then you are in for a real treat. In Tell Me Everything, she brings together two beloved characters: Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge. The results are truly magical. Our bookstore this week is Snowbound Books in Marquette, Michigan. Books mentioned in this week's episode: Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout Abide With Me by Elizabeth Strout Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout Oh William! By Elizabeth Strout The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    37 mins